Subject(s)
Leptospirosis/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Child , Child, Preschool , Czechoslovakia , Female , Humans , Leptospira/classification , Leptospirosis/microbiology , Male , Middle Aged , SerotypingSubject(s)
Feces/microbiology , Food-Processing Industry , Listeria monocytogenes/isolation & purification , Adult , Czechoslovakia , Female , Health Surveys , Humans , MaleSubject(s)
Leptospirosis/epidemiology , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Adult , Czechoslovakia , Female , Humans , Leptospira , Male , Species SpecificitySubject(s)
Encephalitis, Tick-Borne/epidemiology , Adolescent , Animals , Child , Czechoslovakia , Dairy Products , Encephalitis, Tick-Borne/etiology , Female , Humans , Male , Milk , SheepABSTRACT
A study of an outbreak of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in a natural focus of this infection at ZAvada village (Slovakia) led to the conclusion that apparently the epidemic was caused by consumption of fresh sheep cheese and infection of persons occurred by the alimentary route. To our knowledge, this is the first record of this source of infection in man.
Subject(s)
Disease Outbreaks/epidemiology , Encephalitis, Tick-Borne/epidemiology , Milk/microbiology , Adult , Animals , Antibodies, Viral/analysis , Cheese , Child , Czechoslovakia , Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne/immunology , Encephalitis, Tick-Borne/transmission , Food Microbiology , Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests , Humans , Occupations , SheepSubject(s)
Listeria monocytogenes/immunology , Listeriosis/etiology , Occupations , Agglutination Tests , Agglutinins/analysis , Bacteriological Techniques , Complement Fixation Tests , Czechoslovakia , Environmental Exposure , Feces/microbiology , Female , Humans , Listeria monocytogenes/isolation & purification , Listeriosis/immunology , Male , Meat-Packing Industry , Nasal Mucosa/microbiology , Pharynx/microbiology , Serotyping , Skin/microbiologyABSTRACT
As part of an investigation on tick-borne encephalitis in the Tribec region of Czechoslovakia, an epidemiological study has been carried out on 445 cases diagnosed as "virus meningo-encephalitis" over the period 1953-63. The average morbidity rate was 19.3 per 100 000 inhabitants, ranging from 107.9 in 1955 to 3.3 in 1961. The lowest morbidity rates were in the 0-4 years and 60+years age-groups (5.7 and 5.5, respectively) and the highest rate was in the 10-14 years age-group (33.2). When the figures for 1960-63 were analysed, the highest rate (21.3) was found among adult farmers and forestry workers. The morbidity rates in the Tribec region are, on average, 2.6 times those for Czechoslovakia as a whole and 4.7 times those for Slovakia. There is a seasonal variation in incidence, with a maximum in June.The most frequent method of infection was by tick bite. Villages in the south-east of the region had a higher incidence of disease than those in the north-west. Serological examinations revealed variations in activity within the focus: whereas, of 93 inhabitants of four villages who had suffered from "virus meningo-encephalitis", 63 (68%) had antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis virus, none of 95 randomly selected inhabitants of a village with no reported cases of the disease had antibodies. More accurate diagnosis of the disease has been achieved by the introduction of serological and cultivation procedures.
